The paintings by former President George W. Bush mostly confirm the version of Mr. Bush we are familiar with: a man who is seemingly open and charming but also closed and opaque.
Laughable or laudable? George W Bush’s strange, artistic second act
Since his secret passion was exposed by a hacker, Bush has painted dogs, world leaders, and now immigrants. What is he trying to tell us?
21 April 2021 • 12:54pm
President George W Bush at work on portraits for his new book Out of Many, One
Credit: CA Smith Photography
George W Bush, the former US president, is enjoying a second career as a painter. His new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of American Immigrants, publishes 43 of his works. Seven of them are on the cover: smiling out, above a sharp-chinned picture of the German-born NBA player Dirk Nowitzki, is a portrait of the Afghani women’s-rights activist Roya Mahboob. Depending on your own politics, Mahboob is an unlikely or entirely predictable subject for a pro-life president – laughable or laudable. Full of contradictions, W’s art reveals more than it has any right to.
Deseret News
With ‘Out of Many, One,’ George W. Bush makes a case for immigration reform
Bush’s new book of portraits highlighting 43 immigrants arrives at a moment of increased attention on the national immigration debate
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C.A. Smith Photography
Former President George W. Bush has some unfinished business he’d like to take care of.
“I campaigned on immigration reform,” he said. “I made it abundantly clear to voters this is something I intended to do.”
The Bush-endorsed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was the closest the U.S. has come to major immigration reform in decades, but it never even got a vote in Congress. Now, nearly a decade-and-a-half later, Bush is using his developing talent in visual art, personal stories and the soft power of the post-presidency to push for immigration reform again and at a time when problems along America’s southern border has become the new administration’s most challenging issue.